When I arrived at York, my trunk was missing and I at once hunted 

 up Balfour and asked him what I should do about it. He went with 

 me to the station and took the matter vigorously in hand, playing the 

 haughty aristocrat, as I had never seen him do before. The way he 

 lectured those railway people and the abject manner in which they sub- 

 mitted to it showed plainly enough the oligarchial structure of English 

 society. Memory retains a very clear picture of his handsome, high- 

 bred, indignant face, as he laid down the law to a frightened official 

 and so effectively that the trunk was delivered to me the next day. 



That evening, I was a guest at the Red Lion dinner, a term which is '{ 

 a very elaborate witticism too long to explain. I had an immensely good 

 time and met many distinguished people, some old friends among 

 them, others seen for the first time. I was especially glad to meet Lord 

 Houghton, better known as Monkton Milnes, as I heard so much of 

 him. My namesake and colleague, W. E. D. Scott, had pubHshed some 

 observations on that mysterious subject, the migration of birds, because 

 he had had the good fortune to catch migrating flocks of identifiable 

 species with the telescope at the smaller observatory on Prospect Avenue 

 on a bright, moonlight night. The ornithologists at York were eager to 

 hear anything I could tell them on the subject, which unfortunately was 

 not much. 



After attending some of the sectional meetings of the Association, I 

 went on to Edinburgh and Glasgow and sailed from Greenock on the 

 Anchor line S. S. Devonia. The ship was a great improvement over 

 those in which I had sailed before, though far below the modern stan- 

 dards of comfort. We had a rather quick and smooth passage, with 

 but little bad weather, and I enjoyed being with an uncommonly nice 

 lot of passengers. We had remarkable displays of phosphorescence and 

 a very brilliant aurora, to say nothing of glorious moonlight. Stopping 

 a couple of days in New York, I reached home on September 20, for 

 which day the entry in my diary reads: "The President is dead at last; 

 requiescat in pace. The mourning is universal and very striking." 



On September 29 I was an usher at Osborn's wedding, which was 

 celebrated on Governor's Island, because the bride's father. General 

 Perry, was stationed there. General Hancock, "the Superb," in full- 

 dress uniform, was a very striking figure among the guests. A fortnight 

 later, Speir and I went up to Garrison, to welcome the bridal couple 

 home from their wedding trip. A beautiful garden party was the prin- 

 cipal event of our visit. The Osborns were building a house in Prince- 

 ton on the lot where the Cannon Club now stands. Till that should be 



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